


A Panther and his Tiger

by Hitsugayaduckling19



Series: How Embarrassment Brought Kagami Taiga Love [3]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Basketball Games, M/M, Sexual Humor, aomine and kise friendship, basketball dorks, momoi and aomine friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-09
Updated: 2018-03-02
Packaged: 2018-12-25 15:24:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12038730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hitsugayaduckling19/pseuds/Hitsugayaduckling19
Summary: Sequel to ‘An Embarrassed Tiger’ and the third part of the series ‘How Embarrassment Brought Kagami Taiga Love’.The relationship between Aomine and Kagami starts to really take off/develop. Picks up right where 'An Embarrasses Tiger' ends.





	1. Chapter 1

It takes all of Aomine’s self-control to stop himself from skipping all the way back to his apartment. He can’t quite keep the huge grin off his face, however. He can’t believe his luck, running into Kagami tonight. When he had to abruptly leave Kyoto, before playing basketball with Kagami, he was beyond disappointed. He didn’t nk focus on the disappointment for long, though. Instead, his mind was filled with worry for his player, and hoping that it wasn’t anything serious. Even after he was told that his player would be alright, he was restless until he was able to finally see him. The first thing he did was smack the boy over the head.

 

_“What the hell were you thinking, dumbass? You can have died,” Aomine yells, giving his player a slap to the back of the head._

_“Ouch! Coach, that hurt! You shouldn’t hit me, I’m injured,” the boy yells, holding up his bandaged arm as proof._

_“Your own fault, kid,” Aomine snorts. “Who tries to play leap frog on a flight of stairs anyways? Idiots, that’s who.”_

_“That’s harsh, coach. I wasn’t the only one, you know.”_

_“Oh, I know. Trust me, when practice starts back up, I’ll make sure the other guys know regret their decision.” Aomine stays in the room until the boy falls asleep. Before leaving, he leans over the bed and ruffles the kids head and whispering, “No more stupid games, kid. I’m not cut out for this worrying shit._

Aomine saw red when the doctor told him what had happened. The boy was lucky he was in a cast, or Aomine might have hit him harder. So yeah, Aomine didn’t really have the time, at first, to wallow in his disappointment. But as soon as everything calmed down, his player was released from the hospital, and Aomine was back in his apartment, the disappointment came back. And that disappointment had been lurking in the back of his mind ever since. That’s why running into Kagami, and getting his number, lifted his spirits so much.

Aomine’s not completely stupid, he was aware that he had been coming on to the red-head pretty strong. But he’s a man that knows what he wants, and he wanted Kagami. Now, if the man had shown signs of being uncomfortable, or of being violated in any way, Aomine would have gladly backed off. But Kagami had laughed along with him and even flirted back once or twice, which pleased Aomine greatly.

His grin broadens, if that’s even possible at this point, when he remembers that Kagami is the one who asked to exchange numbers, not him. That just proves to Aomine that Kagami was at least somewhat into him, as well. Aomine had taken a chance when they had first met. He had no way of knowing whether or not Kagami was into men, but when he saw the man, he decided that it was worth the risk. He’s glad he did.

 _Man, Satsuki is going to thrilled when I tell her._ Satsuki had taken an immediate like to ‘Kagamin’, as she called him. The thought of telling his best-friend has him quickening his steps a bit, ready to get home so he can call and tell her.

He takes the stairs two at a time while he digs around in his pockets, looking for his keys. He manages to find them and pull them out right as he arrives in front of his door. The moment the door is open Aomine starts toeing off his shoes and begins dialing Momoi’s number. A loud squeal coming from his living room has him dropping his phone and almost tripping over his shoes. His head snaps up and he’s greeted by the sight of his best-friend on his couch, surrounded by empty drinks and food wrappers. Aomine places a hand over his heart and glares at the back of his friend’s head.

“Oi, Satsuki! What the hell,” he yells, trying to pretend that he didn’t almost have a heart attack.

“Sorry, Dai-chan. But Natsu just said his signature line, so I know things are fixing to get good,” she responds calmly, eyes never leaving the screen.

Aomine just stares at her with a blank look on his face, not understanding anything she just said. One look at the T.V has him rolling his eyes. _Is this anime the only thing she ever watches??_ “You know what, I’m not even going to ask. It doesn’t matter. Why are you even here? And why are you eating all my food??”

She turns to look at him now that the episode she was on is over and explains, “There was some kind of electrical issue at my place and the power was out. I was really in the mood to watch Fairy Tail so I came over here!” Aomine opens his mouth to scold her about coming over uninvited, even though it’s a pretty common occurrence, but is stopped when she snaps back around towards the screen and says, “Now shhhh, the next episode is starting.”

He just glares at the back of her head, not even slightly surprised that she would tell him to be quiet in his own house. That’s a pretty common occurrence, too. “So, you’ll never guess who I ran into at the store,” he says, trying to act casual about it.

“Don’t care,” comes her immediate response.

Aomine closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. No matter how many years he’s spent are her, he always forgets how she is when she’s watching anime. A smirk forms on his face as an idea pops into his head. Opening his eyes, he starts walking down the hall leading to his bedroom. “I guess that means you don’t care about how I got Kagami’s number, then,” he says, trying not to laugh. He’s expecting Momoi to yell at him and demand that he tell her everything. What he’s not expecting is to hear a crash and a few mumbled curses. The next thing he knows, Momoi is running into him from behind, wrapping her arms around his chest, and pulling him back down the hall. Then she roughly shoves him down onto the couch before jumping on the spot next to him.

“Tell me everything,” she demands.

“I thought you didn’t care? I thought you wanted to watch your show?” Aomine smirks as she gives him a particularly nasty glare.

“Dai-chan,” she says simply. A warning, Aomine knows.

With a sigh Aomine gives in. “There’s not much to say, really. I ran into him at the store, told him why we had to leave Kyoto so suddenly, we talked about playing ono-on-one, and then he suggested we exchange numbers.” Momoi was smiling by the time he was done talking. “Looked nervous when he asked to, like I would say no to that,” he adds on with a snort.

“I don’t care about the boring stuff, Dai-chan. What I want to know is **when** the two of you will have your **one-on-one.** ” The little wink she gave him lets Aomine know that her thoughts are nowhere near PG.

“Satsuki,” he growls out, feeling his face heat up. “We barely know each.”

Her mouth drops in disbelief at that. “Dai-chan,” she shrieks. “You had him pinned to the wall, ready to strip his clothes our last night in the hotel! In fact, I’m fairly certain you would have done just that if I hadn’t come out when I did.”

She watches in amusement as Aomine’s blush darkens. “I would not have,” he argues. “I’ve more self-control that that! I just wanted to tease the guy a bit.” He tilts his head and adds, as an afterthought, “He is pretty cute when he blushes, though. Makes me **want** to lose control.”

“Aw,” Momoi coos, leaning forward to pinch his cheek, “You’re pretty cute when you blush, too, Dai-chan!” Aomine swats her hand away and scoots further away from her. She lets him go and continues, “It’s such a shame that you don’t blush more often.” Before he has the chance to tell her off, she’s jumping off the couch and exclaiming, “Oh, I know! I can take a picture. That way, I’ll be able to see your cute, blushing face whenever I want! I’ll even send it to Kise, he’ll be so happy!”

“No!” Aomine yells in absolute horror, quickly grabbing her wrist to stop her from retrieving her phone. “If you do that, I won’t tell you about anything that happens between me and Kagami,” he threatens, mind scrambling for a way to keep her from taking a picture. Or worse, sending said picture to Kise. He shudders at the thought.

However, the threat of not getting any details on his potential love life has her pausing. She purses her lips and thinks about it for a long moment. Eventually, she relents, shoulders sagging. “Fine,” she huffs out, yanking her wrist free and plopping back down on the couch.

Aomine breathes a sigh of relief and relaxes back into the cushions. Momoi, a little upset at not getting her desired picture, goes back to watching her anime, ignoring Aomine. Aomine is grateful for this, wanting to relax a bit. Closing his eyes, he thinks back to when he first met Kagami.

 

**********

Aomine was too restless to sleep. He had stayed in the room with Momoi, who had been feeling sick, all day. He was usually in the gym every day, practicing right alongside his team. His muscles aren’t used to being inactive for this long. He had tried stretching a bit, but it hadn’t helped any. Not wanting to stay in bed any longer, afraid his tossing and turning would wake up Momoi, he quickly changes into his gym clothes, grabs a key, and exits the room. He quickly makes his way to the gym, wanting to hurry and get back to bed. Momoi was going to make him go shopping with her tomorrow, so he needed a decent amount of sleep.

Arriving at the gym, he’s displeased to see that there is someone else already in there. Usually, he preferred to work out alone. He’s mentally debating on whether he should just go in anyways, or take a quick jog around the block, when he hears singing. Furrowing his brows in confusion, he takes a quick look around. There’s no one else on the hall with him. In fact, the gym is the only room close to him. He turns his head back to the gym door and takes a few steps closer. Noticing that the singing seems to be louder, he keeps creeping closer until his ear was only a few inches from the door. There was no doubt about it, the singing was coming from the person inside the gym. A small smirk appeared on his face as he listened. He knew that song. Quietly, as to not alert the other of his presence, he pushes open the door.

He didn’t know what he was going to do exactly, but whatever it was didn’t happen. Now in the room, Aomine could tell that the other person in there was a man. An incredibly attractive man. _He’s perfect,_ Aomine thought, taking in the mans’ wild, red hair. He had to swallow, throat suddenly dry, as his eyes landed on the mans’ broad, muscular shoulders. Aomine definitely appreciated a nice pair of shoulders. Eventually, he moved his gaze further down, taking in the way the mans’ tank top clung to his back before moving down even further. It took all of his strength, but he managed to not stare at the mans’ butt. He figured that would be a little too creepy.

The man started singing louder, snapping Aomine out of his gawking. Shaking his head, Aomine smirks, trying to come off as though he hadn’t just been appreciating the mans’ form as if it were a piece of art. His smirk widens when the red-head turns around and promptly freezes when he sees Aomine. _Shit, he really is perfect,_ is the only thing Aomine can think as he takes in the captivating eyes and handsome face of the other.

“Oh man, you done already? That’s a real shame, I was really enjoying it,” Aomine says, watching as the re-head flushes an even darker red. Aomine waits as the other man tries to decide on how to respond.

“What the hell man? When did you get here?” he yells, ignoring Aomine’s previous statement.

Smirk growing, Aomine steps a bit closer and says, “Oh, right about the time you made it to the chorus the first time.”

“Why didn’t you say anything, you asshole,” he’s clearly upset at getting caught and Aomine can’t blame him. He probably would be too.

“And interrupt you? I would never.” Aomine says in mock offense. “Like I said, I was enjoying the show. I mean, who wouldn’t? An incredibly attractive man, such as yourself, acting like a complete dork while working out. I’m pretty sure my heart stopped when I first got here.” Aomine knew that he was laying it on a little thick, but he wanted to be sure his interest got across to the man.

Now, Aomine got to watch as the blush traveled own the mans’ neck. Aomine doesn’t move as he notices the red-head takes his time looking him over. However, once the man had a good once over, Aomine decided to stop being silent. “Are you done checking me out, or do you want me to pose for you a little?”

At that, the man snaps his head up and narrows his eyes at Aomine. _Ah, so he’s got a little fight him, does he? Perfect._

“I don’t mind. Posing, that is. As long as it’s for you, anyways.” Aomine’s messing with him now, but he can’t help it. It’s in his nature. He takes a few steps closer, putting his face only a few centimeters from the red-heads’. Using a finger, he lightly snaps the headband that the man is wearing. “My name is Aomine. Aomine Daiki. Yours?” Aomine watches as him deliberate and has to stop himself from jumping in joy when he sees the other smirk.

“Kagami. Kagami Taiga.”

Aomine blinks a few times, taking the new information in. After a moment, he starts laughing. _Oh, man. I think I’m in love._ He gets himself together quickly and says, “Well, Tiger, you sure caught my eye.”

At that, Kagami’s face is once again bright red, clashing with his hair in a way that Aomine can’t help but find adorable. Kagami looks like he wants to say something, but instead just turns around with a huff and starts aggressively gathering up his things. Aomine watches him leave with a smirk, deciding that coming down to the gym was a great idea. He wasn’t really in the mood to work-out anymore, restless for a completely different reason now. One that only a cold shower would help, so that’s exactly what he planned to do. Decision made, Aomine left the gym and made his way towards the elevator. The doors open right as he walks up and when the doors open, a familiar, pink-haired woman is running right into him.

“Dai-chan!” the women exclaims! “I was so worried. I woke up and you weren’t there! I tried calling you, but your phone was in the room!”

“Sorry, Satsuki. I couldn’t sleep so I thought I would work-out for a bit.”

“You could have at least left a note or something! Or actually take your phone next time!” She looks him up and down, eyes squinting. “You don’t look like you’ve been working out.”

“Yeah, well,” he responds, scratching the back of his head sheepishly, “Something kind of…. Came up?

At his questioning tone, Momoi’s eyes narrow further. “Hmmm,” she stares at him suspiciously for a moment, before her expression changes, a wide grin forming on her face. “Well, you can tell me all about it after you buy me food.” She loops her arm through one of his and starts guiding him towards the hotel entrance.

“Food? Why are we getting food?”

“You said you couldn’t sleep, and since you didn’t work out, I figured we’d go get something to eat. And while we eat, you can tell me all about this thing that _just came up._ ”

“And just what makes you think I want to tell you about it, huh?”

“Oh, Da-chan, I just know.” She sighs softly and leans her head on his shoulder. “I always know with you.”

Glancing down, he smiles slightly. _Yeah, I guess you do,_ he thinks. He’s actually pretty excited to tell her about the Tiger he just met, but would never admit it, let alone bring the subject up himself. He’s quietly letting her lead him to where she wants to eat when a thought it hits him. “Oi! Why the hell am I paying for you?”

“Because you’re the reason I had to get out of bed. You owe me, obviously.”

“I didn’t make you do anything! You got out of bed all on your own!” She doesn’t dignify that with a response, just pinches his arm. Rubbing the sore spot Aomine says, “I don’t even have my wallet with me, so what are we going to do?” Without answering, Momoi just holds her free hand up and Aomine glares as he sees his plain black wallet clutched in it. Snatching it away, he mumbles, “You totally planned this.” Momoi just giggles a bit and burrows her face further into his shoulder.

***

A little while later, food gone and story told, Aomine walks back to the hotel, Momoi’s arm once again looped through his.

“That was so cruel, Dai-chan!” Momoi managed between laughs.

“Was not.” Aomine defender, though he was laughing too.

They continued chatting and laughing, but fell silent as they finally made it back to the floor they were staying on, not wanting to wake up the other guests.

Aomine had just opened the door to their room when, out of the corner of his eyes, he sees a flash a red hair. He whips his head around and is rewarded with a sight that will surely haunt his dreams for days. Standing there frozen was the same red-head from earlier. Shirtless. Aomine makes sure to get a good look, filing away the image for later.

“So, we meet again, Tiger,” he says, finally dragging his eyes away from the mans’ shirtless chest to meet his eyes. He takes a step forward, making a show of looking the red-head up and down. “I’ve got to say, as much as I loved our last encounter, I’m lovin’ this one a whole lot more.” He licks his lips, slowly dragging his eyes down the toned chest once more. When he looks up into brick-red eyes once more, he gives a cheeky wink.

Momoi, who obviously put together that this was the same man from Aomine’s story, gives Aomine a slap to the chest and exclaims, “Dai-chan!”

Aomine jumps and turns away Kagami, glaring down at Momoi. “Oi! What the hell, Satsuki? That hurt!” To emphasize his point, he brings a hand up and rubs at his abused chest.

“You should introduce me to your friend,” she responds simply.

Aomine, not at all happy that she’s here, grabs her arm and pulls her closer to himself. “Satsuki, go in the room,” he whispers.

She pulls back and puffs out her cheeks, clearly annoyed. She grabs the front of his shirt and pulls him down to her level. “No way, Dai-chan. I want to meet him,” she whispers back.

“Satsuki, I’m serious.”

“So am I.”

Before Aomine can respond, he hears the sound of a door closing. Both he and Momoi look up and see that Kagami had retreated back to the safety of his room.

“Look what you did,” Aomine accuses, glaring down at his friend.

“Me?” Momoi exclaims. “It was your fault. I was just trying to be polite!”

“Yeah, right,” Aomine scoffs, opening the door to their room.

Behind him, Momoi rolls her eyes, choosing not to continue their pointless argument. Opting instead to changes the subject she says, “I know you said he was hot, but damn. I never imagined he’d be that attractive.”

Aomine, throwing himself down on his bed, grunts in response. His lack of response has Momoi giggling as she settles into her own bed. She knew that was Aomine’s way of saying ‘Told ya so’.

Aomine doesn’t have any trouble falling to sleep this time. Not when there’s a chance he’ll dream of a certain shirtless red-head.

 

**********

As the memory fades, Aomine opens his eyes and blinks a few times to focus. The first thing that he notices is that the T.V. has been paused. He looks over to check if Momoi is still there, and is surprised to see her staring at him with a huge smile on her face.

“Anyone in particular that you’re thinking of?” She asks knowingly.

“Leave me alone,” he says, closing his eyes again.

“When are you and Kagamin playing one-on-one?” She asks, completely ignoring him.

Sighing, Aomine says, “Don’t know. Haven’t discussed it.”

Gasping in horror Momoi scolds, “Dai-chan, you should have texted him as soon as you got home.”

“Why?”

“You just should have! Text him. Right now!”

“Why?”

“Dai-chan,” she warns. “Do it.”

“But he had plans for tonight. I don’t want to bother him. Can’t I just text him later?”

“No, you’ll text him now.”

“But….”

“Now, Dai-chan. If he’s busy, he can just text back later.”

Aomine wants to argue, but what Momoi said makes sense. He thinks on it a moment longer before sighing and pulling out his phone, sending out a quick message.

**One-on-one, next Saturday?**

With that being done, Aomine jumps off the couch and announces, “I’m going to take a quick shower. Don’t eat all my food.”

“No promises,” comes the mumbled response before the T.V. start playing again.

Once he’s in his room he throws his phone on the bed and quickly strips, tossing the clothes into the hamper before walking to the connected bathroom. He makes quick work of his shower, wanting to finish so he can eat and hopefully sleep. If he can get Momoi to leave, that is. Turning the water off, he reaches out and grabs the towel from the rack and pats himself dry, wrapping the towel around his waist once he’s done. Making his way back to his room, he rummages through his dresses, pulling out a pair of boxers and some sweats. He dresses quickly, using the towel from around his waist to dry his hair. On his way back to the living room, he tosses the towel in the same hamper as his clothes. He’s at the door when he hears his phone go off. He considers ignoring it, but remembers the last person that he messaged and decides not to. Picking up his phone, he’s definitely glad he chose not to ignore it. His favorite red-head had responded.

_Name the time and place, I’ll be there._

He reads the message a few times, smile widening each time. He quickly sends out the time and location. It doesn’t take long before he’s getting a response, agreeing to the meet-up time and location. He throws his phone back down and rushes to the living room.

“Next Saturday,” is all he says.

Momoi being who she is, immediately understands. “Dai-chan, that’s great! I’m so excited!”

“Why the hell are you excited? You aren’t going.” He’s prepared to do everything in his power to convince her to stay home, not willing to let her interrupt his game, but it turns out that he doesn’t have to.

“Of course I’m not! But you’re going to tell me all about it Saturday night!”

Laughing, Aomine doesn’t even think to argue with her. He’s actually grateful. He knows he’d want to tell her everything, but bringing it up on his own would be impossible. It’s much better if she thinks she’s having to force him to talk. It’s more work for her that way. For the moment, Aomine forgets all about food and sleep. Right now, he wants to sit next to Momoi and pretend that he’s not listening to all the advice she’s spewing at him. As he does this, he can only think one thing- _Is it next Saturday yet?_

 


	2. Chapter 2

Aomine had been distracted all week, anticipating his one-on-one with Kagami. He’d been spacing out during practice, to the amusement of Momoi and the team. They had been laughing and poking fun at him all week. Aomine still can’t believe that Momoi had told his players about his little (big) crush on and his upcoming game (date? Is it a date?)…….actually, now that he thinks about, he can totally believe it. Hell, he should have seen it coming. That’s exactly the type of thing that Momoi would do.

The first day of practice had started off fine. The guys had just teased him a bit, but stopped once practice had started. Then he just had to go and mess everything up. Although, he completely blames Momoi, she had to have planned everything. He doesn’t know how or why she did it, but he knows she did.

 

******

Practice had been going well, Aomine could see the improvement the players had made so far that year and was pleased. He told the players that they should come up with unique ways of scoring, for the times when the conventional methods just wouldn’t work. To help them better understand, he decided to demonstrate with one of his famous formless shots. He was getting ready to release the ball when he heard Momoi say something about ‘Kagamin’. Distracted, he released to early and the barley barely grazed the bottom of the net. He watches in shock as the ball roll and come to a stop as it hits the wall. Soft laughter makes him snap his head to the bench where he sees Momoi and his players trying to keep their laughter in. Eventually though, as his cheeks heat up, the all collapse into laughter. Some of the guys even fall to their knees, hand uselessly in front of their mouth. Momoi uses both hands to cover her mouth, but Aomine can see the amusement in her eyes. Aomine clears his throat and scratches the back of his head sheepishly, feeling his cheeks heat up even more.

One of the more outgoing players, Chuuya, finally gets ahold of himself and looks up at Aomine with a smirk. “Wow, Coach,” he says, “I bet you’ll really impress the guy with skills like that.” Everyone starts up laughing again, having a great time teasing their coach.

Despite the blush on his face, Aomine scowls and says, “What was that? You want to run lap the rest of practice?? Hmm, well, since you asked o-so nicely…..” He takes great pleasure when he sees the smirk on Chuuya’s face be replaced by a look of horror.

“Dai-chan,” Momoi interrupts, finally able to calm herself down, “You can’t make them run the rest of practice! There’s still two hours left!”

“I know,” he says enthusiastically, laughing loudly when the rest of his players immediately stops laughing and stands up straight.

“Dai-chan,” Momoi scolds.

Chuuya, seemingly over the horror of possibly running for the next two hours says, “I wouldn’t be too happy if I were you, Coach. I doubt this ‘Kagamin’ will like you all that much if he finds out that you’d rather punish us than actually coach us.”

“Yeah? Well how the hell is he going to find out,” Aomine asks, smug.

“We tell him, of course,” answers Chuuya.

Meanwhile, Momoi and the rest of the players sigh and sit down. When Aomine and Chuuya start, there’s no stopping them. They once spent an entire practice going back and forth. And then continued later that night on the team chat.

“You don’t even know him,” Aomine exclaims, trying not to get riled up like Chuuya wants. It’s just so damn hard not to! Chuuya reminds him a lot of a certain blonde ex-teammate of his. The two may look completely different, but they both give off that- ‘I may be pretty, and look dainty, but I can kick your ass- vibe. That, and they both annoy the shit out of Aomine and get on his nerves like it’s their job.

“As tragic as that is, you’re right,” Chuuya says dramatically. “But,” he continues, “With what Momoi has told us, I’m sure I’d be able to find him with minimal effort.”

Aomine, having no doubt that Chuuya could and _would_ look for Kagami, and knowing that he probably could find him, doesn’t know what to say to that. Damn that bastard. Chuuya, knowing that he’s won for now, looks incredibly pleased with himself. Aomine lets him be, figuring that’ll be the end of it.

Oh, how wrong he was. He should have known better, really, he should have. He can see, by Chuuya’s smirk growing, that he’s not going to like what his player has to say.

“Aw. Don’t look so defeated, Coach. Things could work out for you. Maybe this ‘Kagamin’ prefers a little punishment every now and then,” Chuuya says suggestively. “I personally know a lot of guys who are into that.”

The rest of the team and Momoi start cracking up again. Sure, their little arguments take time away from practice, but they’re usually hilarious. Aomine had to close his eyes and take deep breaths, reminding himself that he loves his job. _No, Daiki, it’s not acceptable to strangle your player. Resist._ After repeating that to himself a few times, he opens his eyes. _That was pretty funny, though. Got to give him that._ Aomine smiles a bit, trying not to laugh.

Sighing heavily, Aomine announces, “Alright then, no one is going to be able to focus on practice now, thank you, Chuuya. So, I’ll go ahead and call practice today. But be ready for a real ass-kicking tomorrow.”

The team cheers and pat Chuuya on the back. Chuuya smiles and gives Aomine a wink before exiting the gym with the rest of the team.

_That bastard! He planned this! I should call him back in here and make him run by himself for the next two hours._

“Now, now, Dai-chan. You can’t go back on your word,” Momoi informs him softly, coming to stand next to him, looping her arm through his.

“Fine,” he says dejectedly, shoulders slumping. They leave the gym, making sure to lock everything up on their way out.

They walk in peace for a bit, but Aomine lets out a heavy sigh, causing Momoi to tilt her head up to look at him.

“Everything alright, Dai-chan?” she asks. When Aomine’s face twists up like he’s in pain, she grows concerned and rushes to reassure him. “You know Chuuya-kun was just messing around, right, Dai-chan? About everything. He’s not really going to hunt down Kagamin.” She corrects herself after a slight pause. “Well, he might actually, but only to make sure that Kagamin is good enough for you. He really looks up to you.”

At this, Aomine’s face twists up even more. “I know,” he mutters. “That’s the problem.”

“Uhh, I’m not really following, Dai-chan.”

“Going back and forth with him, it.. he…it’s just that..” heaving another sigh, Aomine takes the hand of his free arm, the one not held captive by one of Momoi’s, and rubs at his face and mumbles, “He reminds me a lot of Kise, you know?” He drops his hand and glares. “It makes me miss the stupid, blonde bastard,” he finally gets out, looking like it physically pained him to do so.

Momoi looks up at him, eyes wide with surprise. Slowly, a grin makes its way onto her face. “Dai-chan, we saw him, like, a little over a week ago.”

“Yeah, I know. But still,” Aomine responds. Momoi swears she sees him pouting a little.

“Ahhh, Dai-chan, that’s so cute! I bet Ki-chan will be thrilled to know that you actually enjoy his company, and miss him when he’s not around!”

Aomine immediately snaps his head down towards her and hisses, “You can’t tell him. He’ll **never** leave me alone if you do.”

“But, Dai-chan,” she teases, “Isn’t that what you want?”

Groaning, Aomine looks forward. “ **You’re** never going to let me alone about this, are you?”

“Hmmm,” she pretends to think. “Not likely.” Aomine can’t help but groan again, before going silent. He’s trying to act upset, but Momoi still catches the slight upturn of his lips. Oh yeas, she’s definitely not letting him forget about this. Ever.

 

******

That had just been the first day of practice since Aomine had run into Kagami and scheduled their one-on-one. If he thought it was going to get better, he thought wrong. Momoi and Chuuya, especially Chuuya, had been teasing him the whole week. Even when they weren’t at practice, Chuuya would send teasing comments through the team chat. Eventually, the rest of the team, following Chuuya’s lead, started teasing him as well. There was no escape.

Now, it was Friday afternoon and, because they had won their scrimmage match the day before, Aomine was giving the team the day off. They were all immensely grateful. Perhaps that’s why they seemed to lay off on the teasing a bit. Not that Aomine was complaining. Well, he was complaining a little. Now that he didn’t have practice, all he had to so was think about his game with Kagami tomorrow. Which did him little good. All it succeeded in doing was working up his nerves.

 Kagami had mentioned that he’s been playing basketball for a while, but he never mentioned how good he was. And that alone worries him. Aomine doesn’t believe in going easy or playing half-assed. He feels like that’s an insult to who he’s playing. But Aomine also knows, without trying to stoke his ego, that he’s **incredibly good** at basketball. So good that a lot are intimidated by him. Of course, Aomine’s not going to care if Kagami is actually good or not; that’s not what he’s worried about. He worried about how Kagami is going to react to **him.** He’s been called a ‘monster’ many times, and not as a compliment. He doesn’t want to come off as someone who thinks he’s better than everyone else, he did enough of that shit in high school.

Aomine groans loudly from his spot on the couch, angry at himself for overthinking things. Momoi enters through his front door right as groans, and looks up from her phone in concern.

“Everything alright, Dai-chan?”

“Yeah,” he sighs dramatically. “Just thinking too much. It hurts my head.”

“That’s because your brain isn’t use to thinking,” she says, giggling.

“Screw off,” Aomine responds, voice muffled now that he’s flipped on his front and has his face buried in the couch cushions.

“That’s not very nice, Dai-chan. Especially when I came all the way over just to get you out of the house and help take your mind off things.”

Lifting his head, Aomine narrows his eyes at her in suspicion. “What are you talking about?”

Grinning widely, Momoi exclaims, “Shopping!”

“No,” Aomine says shortly, burying his face back in the cushions.

“Come on, Dai-chan. It’s not like you have anything better to do.”

Aomine considers arguing more, but he knows he’ll give in eventually and he’s not _really_ all that opposed to the idea. _It definitely would give me something else to think about._ Huffing, Aomine sits up and mumbles out, “fine,” before quickly making his way to his room to grab his wallet. When he makes it back to the living room he sees Momoi leaning against the bar smiling brightly. He scoffs as he bends down to put his shoes on, acting like he’s upset about being forced to go with her. Neither of them are fooled, they both know it’s just for show.

Once he’s done putting his shoes on, Momoi pushes off the bar and skips to the door.

“I’ll drive,” she announces.

“I sure as hell wasn’t going to,” Aomine remarks as he shuts and locks his front door. Momoi doesn’t say anything in response, just smiles and loops her arm through his.

Later that night, after hours of carrying around Momoi’s bags, Aomine lays in bed and silently thanks his best-friend for distracting him all day. Because now that he’s alone with nothing to do, he might be freaking out. Just a little. He doesn’t even know why he’s so nervous, he’s gone on plenty of dates before. Hell, he wasn’t even sure if he could consider this game a date. _Great, now I’m worried about that, too._ He briefly considers sending Momoi a message, asking for her opinion on the matter, but quickly dismisses the thought. He’s told her enough embarrassing things this week, like how he misses Kise.

 _Kise!_ _I can ask him!_ Aomine hastily reaches for his phone that’s charging on the bed side table. Of course, he can ask Kise. Kise is great with all things dating and relationships and despite what most people might think, Kise doesn’t push for more information. Well, he might, but it’s always jokingly. If he knows Aomine really doesn’t want to give details, he’ll respect that. _He’s pretty great like that,_ Aomine thinks as he sends the blonde a quick message.

**Is a game of one-on-one considered a date?**

Short and to the point, Aomine doesn’t have time to mess around. Kise, almost always being on his phone, replies almost immediately.

_Well, hello to you, too, Aominechii!! =)_

**Yeah, hi. So is it?** Patience has never really been Aomine’s strong point. It can be, if necessary, but Aomine hardly ever deems it so.

 _So mean, Aominechii! =(_  

Aomine’s about to respond, telling Kise to answer the damn question, but Kise beats him to it.

_But, to answer your question, I’m not sure. You and I go one-on-one all the time, but I’m a taken man, Aominechii!!! So those can’t be dates! ;) I mean, your attractive and all, but heart belongs to another <3_

**Kise.** At first, that’s all he sends, but then he figures if he wants an answer, he _should_ give Kise a bit more to work with.

**Is it a date if I…kind of.. like the guy?**

_Well, well. Does Aominechii have a crush?? Tell me, tell me!!_

**No.**

_Fine. Rude. But back to your question, does this mystery man like you??_

**Uhh….. yes???** Aomine’s not entirely sure about that, but going by Kagami’s reactions to Aomine when he had him pinned to the hotel wall……Aomine’s willing to bet Kagami is at least a little bit interested in him.

_Uh, you seem a bit unsure??_

**Yes. He does.**

_Good! Then I guess it depends on how you asked him!!!_

**What?**

_Aominechii!! Asking someone to play one-on-one casually doesn’t really give off ‘date’ vibes!_

**Uh-huh.**

_So???_

**So??**

_Did you ask him casually or not, Aominechii?? =/_

**Uh. Not really, no.** Aomine thinks back to when he first challenged Kagami to a one-on-one. He had pinned to the wall and was seconds away from kissing him. Deciding to correct himself, he quickly types out another message.

**No. There was definitely nothing casual about it.**

_Ooooo, Aominechii, naughty boy!! ;)_

**KISE!**

_Haha! Sorry Aominechii! To answer your question, it really depends. Do you **want** it to be a date?? Does he??_

**I wouldn’t be asking if I knew that, moron!**

_Oh. Well, then I don’t think I can help much, Aominechii. Just pay attention to how he acts and go off that!!_

**That is actually the worst advice you’ve ever given me.**

_Rude, Aominechii, rude!! Here I was, trying to help a friend in need._

Aomine smiled and sent a quick ‘goodnight, Kise’, before setting his phone back down and closing his eyes. He tried not to think of tomorrow too much, knowing he wouldn’t get any sleep if he did that. But he couldn’t help but think that he would like for tomorrow to be a date. And that he hopes Kagami wants that, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !


	3. Chapter 3

Waking up early was never something Aomine was good at. When he was younger, Momoi had to practically drag him out of bed by his feet. Expecting him to get up, on his own, before noon was out of the question. He’s improved a bit, though. He’s now able to get himself at 10 every morning and to work by 11. He doesn’t like it, and will complain to anyone who’ll listen, but he does it. Despite his hatred for being up in the morning, that’s precisely how he finds himself. Standing over his coffee pot at 6:46 AM. On a Saturday. The thought succeeds in making him angrier and he directs a glare at the coffee pot, internally demanding that it hurries the hell up. He’s surprised when it does finish, but doesn’t hesitate to poor his mug to the brim and take a large sip, not caring that the scalding liquid is likely to give his tongue third degree burns. He takes another large gulp, refills the mug back up to the brim, and stalks off to the living area. He carefully sets his mug down on a table next to the couch and throws himself down, immediately picking up his phone.  

He stares at it for a moment before tossing it back down and picking up his mug. He takes a small sip this time and attempts to understand why he woke up so early. His eyes are closed and he has his head tilted back to rest against the cushion. He’s just about to doze off when his phone dings, loud and obnoxious, causing him to jump and spill some of his coffee on his lap. Cursing, he sets the mug down and picks up his phone.

_Aominechii!! Good morning!_

Groaning, Aomine contemplates throwing his phone across the room. _‘Leave it to Kise to piss me off without even trying’._ He decides against throwing his phone, too much work, and settles on simply ignoring the blonde. Problem is, Kise never has let anyone ignore, not without a fight anyways.

_Aominechii! I know you’re awake!_

_Aominechii!_

_Don’t ignore me, Aominechii! It won’t work, I can be very persistent._

_AOMINECHII!!!_

With a loud curse, Aomine bolts up and grabs his phone, typing out an angry response.

**the hell do u want kise**

  _Aominechii! Hi!_

**kise**

_Aominechii_

Aomine takes a deep breath, trying not to lose control.

**what do u want**

_What, I can’t text you without wanting something? Can’t I just check up on you?_

**kise**

_Alright! Jeez, Aominechii.._

_Anyways, when is this maybe-date of yours??_

_You forgot to mention that part last night! Silly, Aominechii!_

**I didnt forget**

_Don’t be rude!_

_Tell me_

In an attempt to get Kise to leave him alone, Aomine tells him.

**Later this afternoon now leave me alone**

A moment after he hits send, Aomine notices something.

**Wait**

**How did u know I was awake**

It takes a few minutes to respond, Aomine staring at his phone suspiciously the whole time.

_I know you well, Aominechii! I just had a feeling you would be awake!_

Aomine doesn’t believe him, but he knows Kise well enough to know that questioning him won’t do any good. If he wants answers, he’ll have to be patient.

**whatever. why r u awake this early?**

_I knew you cared, Aominechii!_

_Yukiochii had an early flight this morning and I, being the loving boyfriend that I am, offered to wake up and drive him to the airport!!_

_You should take notes from me, if you want to impress Kagamichii!!_

Aomine notices that there’s definitely something wrong with that last message, but he’s too tired to figure out what it is immediately. He feels like he almost has it, but the moment is ruined by another message from Kise.

_Anyways, since you’re up, how about spending the morning with me._

**pass.**

Aomine doesn’t even have to think about. No way does he want to spend the morning shopping with Kise. Sure, Kise didn’t **say** shopping, but Aomine knows that’s what he meant and he’s not interested. Kise shopping is like Momoi shopping and he already did that just yesterday.

_But Aominechii, please!_

**ask someone else**

_But I want to go with you!_

**No.**

_But Aominechii! I miss you. :’(_

Aomine curses him in his head. He can’t say no to that.

**Fine**

**Ur driving**

_Of course I’ll drive, Aominechii!!_

_Now go get dressed, I’m waiting outside!_

Aomine jumps up after reading the last message and runs to the window, which overlooks the parking lot. Sure enough, Aomine sees Kise sitting in his car, parked right outside Aomine’s window. Aomine looks down at his phone when it dings.

_Hurry up, Aominechii!_

Aomine considers taking his time now, just to piss Kise off, but Kise knows him well and shuts down that idea with a single message.

_If you hurry, I’ll buy you breakfast! ;)_

He’s dressed and in Kise’s car not even five minutes later. ‘ _Damn him for knowing me so well’._

 

******

“You know I can’t be out all day, right? I have plans,” Aomine reminds the blonde as they’re getting back in his car after stopping for breakfast. Kise had kept his word and bought Aomine breakfast, which had Aomine had scarfed down while Kise talked about his most recent and upcoming jobs and how he and his boyfriend were going to move in together soon. 

“Aominechii!” Kise exclaims. “I can’t believe you think I would forget about your date. Or your potential date, that is.” He laughs lightly when Aomine smacks him for that last comment. “I just need to find a nice outfit, shouldn’t take long,” he assures his moody friend.

“Yeah, right,” Aomine snorts. “You not taking long to pick out some clothes? Sounds like bullshit to me.” Kise pouts at the bullying. “What do you need new clothes for anyways? You already have a ton.”

“But none that Yukiochhi hasn’t already seen,” he whines. “Our anniversary is coming up soon and I want to wear something nice for him!”

Aomine pales, thinking over Kise’s words.

“When you say nice…you don’t mean.. lingerie? Do you?” When he doesn’t get an immediate response, he asks again. “ **Do you**?”

“….Well…Maybe. A little.” Is the sheepish response.

“No. Absolutely not. Take me home. I refuse to help you pick that shit out! How could you even ask me that, not even Satsuki asks me that!”

“Well of course not, Aominechii! That would just be weird, silly. You’re like siblings!”

“Take me home, Kise.”

“No! You don’t have to help with that part, you can stand outside the shop and wait for me! I need an outfit that I can wear out, too! You can help with that!” When Aomine still looks like he wants to protest more, Kise adds, “Please, Aominchii, please!” He sticks out his lower lip and slumps his shoulders a little, knowing Aomine can’t resist that look. He’s proven right when, not even a moment passes before Aomine slumps his own shoulders and groans out “fine.”

“Thank you, Aominechii!

Aomine just grunts in response and looks out the window. It’s a nice day, sunny, but not too hot, with a light wind. Perfect for playing basketball. He smiles to himself as he wonders what kind of player Kagami is. He seems sure of himself, so maybe he’ll be strong, strong enough to really challenge Aomine. Aomine doubts it, but can’t help the hope blossoms in his chest.

He snaps out of his day dream of a hot, sweaty Kagami, as Kise parks the car and unbuckles his seat belt. He looks up and realizes that while he way lost in his thoughts, they had arrived at the mall. Unbuckling his own seatbelt, he quickly shuffles out of the car and sees Kise leaning against the hood smirking at him.

“What were you thinking about so hard, Aominechii?”

“Nothing,” Aomine grunts, shutting the door and taking off walking, not bothering to check and see if the blonde is following him. After a moment, he hears footsteps behind him and slows his pace, allowing Kise to catch up. They make their way inside in silence, simply enjoying each other’s presence. The quiet however, doesn’t last for long.

Almost as soon as they step foot inside the mall, Kise is grabbing his arm and pulling him around, spouting out all kind of nonsense about what stores they need to go to, what kind of clothes he’s looking for, and that maybe Aomine should consider getting some new clothes, too. Aomine’s only half listening, he’s too busy struggling to keep up with the energetic blonde’s pace. It’s not until after they make it to the first store that Kise’s last suggestion sinks in.

“What do I need new clothes for? I’ve plenty.”

“There’s always room for more, Aominechii,” the blonde dismisses, already piling clothes over one of his arms. Aomine follows his friend around, occasionally finding articles of clothing that he likes and throwing them over an arm. By the time they’ve searched the entire store, Aomine is wondering how Kise can carry all those clothes around for so long. Aomine has only picked a few items and his arm is tired, not used to this particular form of strain. Kise, on the other hand, seems to have one of everything in the store and still going strong.

“Alright,” the blonde suddenly exclaims, “Time to try everything on.”

Aomine doesn’t even try to protest, his experience with Momoi taught him that arguing is futile. He just follows Kise to the dressing rooms and picks the room next to Kise, knowing that the blonde will want his opinion on everything he tries on. With that in mind, he quickly tries on what he found for himself, a nice pair of black cargo shorts, two pairs of dark wash jeans, a few t-shirts, and one muscle tank. He, surprisingly, likes everything, especially the muscle tank. It’s black with a navy blue geometric pattern decorating the front. It fits him just right, clinging to the muscles of his back and abdomen and showcasing his arms quite nicely. He may or may not have decided to wear for his match later that day.

He’s just slipping his own shirt over his head when he hears Kise call for him. Once he’s dressed, he gathers the clothes he tried on and steps out of the dressing room. He sees Kise standing in front of a mirror, assessing the outfit he has on. It’s a fairly simple one, just some black skinny jeans, a royal blue V-neck, and a dark gray cardigan overtop. Simple, but very flattering on the blonde.

Turning to face Aomine, Kise asks, “What do you think?”

Aomine takes his time running his eyes up and down the length of Kise’s body, knowing that the blonde won’t be happy if he doesn’t give honest feedback. When he’s done, he meets Kise’s eyes and says,

“I like it, looks good. That shade of blue is definitely one of your colors.” Kise positively beams at the praise, giving Aomine a wide smile. He practically skips back to the dressing room while Aomine perches himself on one of the chairs outside his room.

The day follows the same pattern- Kise picks out a ton of clothes, tries them all on, Aomine gives his opinions, Kise buys almost all of them, and then they go to the next store and repeat. Aomine doesn’t mind at all, actually enjoying the time with his ex-teammate. He even picked him up a new pair of basketball shoes and a few pairs of basketball shoes. Everything goes smoothly. Until they make their way to the last store.

Aomine looks over at Kise and sees him staring into the store with apprehension clear on his face.

“What’s with you,” he asks.

Kise’s cheeks up slightly as he answers, “Nothing, really. I’ve just never, you know, worn anything like what’s in there and I don’t know what to get. Or if I should even get anything?” Kise seems to become more unnerved at this point. “I mean, what if Yukiochii doesn’t even like it? He probably won’t. He’ll probably think I’m weird. What if he decides I’m weird and doesn’t want to move in with me anymore??”

Aomine’s eyes widen with each of Kise’s statements, not believing that Kise is so worked up over this. “Oi, Kise,” he calls, momentarily snapping the blonde out of his panic, “Quit freaking out, it’ll be fine. There’s no way Kasamatsu’s going to decide you’re too weird to live with. If that was going to happen, it would have by now. Besides, I don’t believe for a second that he’s going to be against seeing you in something small and lacy, so calm the hell down.” Just saying that made Aomine slightly uncomfortable, he’d rather not talk about Kise’s private life, but he is glad to see that his words seemed to have stopped the other form panicking. However, not all of the tension has left the blondes shoulders. They stare at each other for a moment before Aomine heaves a huge sigh and closes his eyes, not believing what he’s actually about to offer.

“Why don’t I go in with you and help you pick something out,” he suggests through gritted teeth, physically pained by his offer. The pain is lessened slightly by the absolute look of relief and gratitude on the others face.

Neither of them make a move towards the store for a moment, until Aomine gives Kise a shove. Kise hesitantly walks in, Aomine right behind him. They look around nervously for a few minutes before deciding that if they want to leave anytime soon, they’re going to actually have to make an honest attempt at picking something out. Kise picks a few things up and holds it up to himself, letting Aomine look at it. Aomine says they would all look nice and Kise promptly puts them all back, unsatisfied with the answer.

Finally, out of the corner of his eye, Aomine sees something that he’s positive Kise will like. It’s a two-piece set, the same shade of blue as the first shirt Kise tried on that day, with lace and ribbons all over. He quickly snatches it off the rack and shoves it at Kise, who appraises it and nods approvingly. He goes to the dressing room to try it on. Aomine determinedly stays on the opposite side of the store, pretending to browse through some of the other options. There’s no way he’s going to give Kise opinions on that outfit, there’s a limit to how far his friendship duties go.

A few minutes later a blushing Kise exits the dressing room and quickly makes his way to the counter to pay. When he’s done, he places the small bad inside one of the many others he has and the tow of them quickly leave the store, both taking a deep breath once they’ve made it out.

“That wasn’t awkward at all,” Aomine huffs out, a small laugh following.

Kise looks over to him and lets out a small snort, “Nah, not too bad,” he says brightly. He checks the time on his phone and decides that they should head home, not wanting to have Aomine have to rush to get ready for his basketball match later on.

The drive back to Aomine’s apartment is spent trying to schedule a game of one-on-one between the two, Kise trying to figure out the next game of Aomine’s team he can make it to, and the two of them discussing how they both want to get together with the rest of their friends and have a basketball day. Before long, Kise is dropping Aomine off and making him promise to text him later that night and give him all the ‘juicy details’ from his game. Aomine agrees and wishes Kise luck with his anniversary plans, which causes Kise to flush a bright red before sticking his tongue out and speeding off.

Aomine takes his time going up the stairs, thinking back on his trip to the mall with Kise. Throughout the day, Aomine had caught his blonde friend sneaking glances at him, smiling softly. It creeped him out. He kept wiping at his face, thinking he had something on it, only to have his hand come away clean. He thought of asking Kise what his deal was, but decided against. Not like the model would tell him anyways.

Setting his bags down on the couch, Aomine glances at the clock and sees that he still has close to two hours before he’s supposed to meet Kagami. He frowns, not knowing what to do to keep himself occupied. However, after a couple minutes of debate, he decides to just head to the court now, he can take his time walking there and shoot a few hoops to warm up. He’s hoping that’ll help calm his nerves some.

Mind made up, he quickly strips off his shirt and lets it fall to the floor. He starts rifling through his bags, looking for the muscle tank he just bought, quickly throwing it on once he’s found it. He grabs a duffle bag and stuffs a basketball and a handful of water bottles in it. Throwing it over a shoulder, he pats his pockets, ensuring that he has his phone, wallet, and keys, and quickly leaves his apartment once again.

He takes his time getting to the court, stopping a couple of times on the way. Once to help an elderly couple carry their groceries into the home, and at least twice he stops to pet a dog that he passed. By the time he gets there, there’s only a little over an hour until Kagami should be arriving. He wastes no time slinging his duffle bag to the ground and retrieving his basketball from within.

He dribbles mindlessly for a few minutes, looking around and admiring the empty court. He’s glad he won’t have to share the court with anyone but Kagami, not really wanting a bunch of eyes watching him play. Back in high school, he loved the attention, but now, he prefers to be more behind the scenes.

Tired of dribbling, he starts shooting. He doesn’t do anything fancy, just making simple free throws, not wanting to work up a sweat and make it obvious to Kagami that he showed up early. _I’d never be able to live that down,_ he thinks, still shooting. He thinks about how embarrassing that would be and how horrible it would be if Kise or Momoi were to found out that he showed up early because he was nervous. He groans loudly at the thought, disturbed enough to miss his shot. Shaking his head, he goes to retrieve the ball and almost falls on his face when he bends to pick it up, a deep voice from behind him startling him.

“You know,” the voice starts, amusement obvious, “When you challenged me, I was expecting you to actually be, you know, good.”

Whipping around, Aomine sees Kagami standing a few feet in front of him, a red bag tossed over his left shoulder and a basketball in his right arm. Aomine swallows, mouth suddenly dry. Kagami’s wearing bright red basketball shorts and a white tank, his hair pushed back with a white head band. Aomine really likes Kagami with his hair pushed back, it brings more attention to those brick-red eyes that Aomine swears he could get lost in. The smirk stretched across his lips makes him all the more alluring.

Mind finally catching up and processing what was said, Aomine playfully glares at the red-head. “Oh, I’m good,” he drawls. “You’ve no idea.”

Smirk widening, Kagami says, “I didn’t get a warm-up like you, so let me stretch a bit and then you can show me just how good you are.”

Aomine watches him set both his bag and basketball on a bench a few feet away. He watches as he begins stretching, but has to look away quickly, not wanting a certain..problem to arise. To distract himself, he alternates between dribbling and shooting. He doesn’t know what time it is, having been too engrossed in his thoughts while shooting to bother checking the time, but he’s pretty sure Kagami is at least 20 minutes early. The thought makes him happy and he has to fight back the grin threatening to form.

“So,” Aomine starts, not wanting the silence to become uncomfortable, “How do you want to do this?” Out of the corner of his eye he can see Kagami pause to consider his question, before he continues stretching.

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I don’t have anywhere to be until late tonight,” He eventually says, finally done stretching. “We could play a game or two today and then meet up again at a later date. It’s been a while for me, so I figure I should take it easy this first time.” He rubs the back of his head nervously, like he’s afraid Aomine won’t like his suggestion. However, he’s worried for nothing. Aomine loves the idea. Especially the part about meeting again.

“That works for me. Been a while for me, too.” Aomine tries really hard to keep the excitement out of his voice.

Smiling brightly, Kagami lets out an enthusiastic, “Great.”

Aomine tosses Kagami his ball as he walks onto the court. “I’ll let you go first, you’ll need the head start,” Aomine teases good-naturedly. Kagami doesn’t say anything, just narrows his eyes and gets into position.

That’s all the warning Aomine gets before Kagami is moving, easily passing him and dunking the ball into the hoop. Aomine stares wide-eyed at him, impressed. Not many people can catch him off guard like that.

Turning to face Aomine, ball in hand, Kagami asks, “Regretting your choice now?”

“Hell no,” Aomine says, smirk forming on his lips. “This is going to be fun,” he remarks, catching the ball as it’s tossed to him.

Aomine was right, it is fun. Kagami is an amazing player. He’s using moves Aomine has never seen before, moving almost as fast as Aomine himself. However, despite this, and his head start, Kagami still ends up losing two games in a row.

After the second game, they both collapse on the ground, exhausted. Aomine’s more than impressed at this point, he’s stunned. No one has ever been able to keep up with him as well as Kagami had, Aomine only won each game by a single point. And no matter what Aomine did, Kagami never gave up, he kept fighting, kept giving as good as he got. Aomine rarely had to go all out. In fact, he only had to when he played his old middle school teammates. The thrill of having someone else he could go all out with almost had him asking Kagami for a few more games, but then he remembered that Kagami wanted to take it easy today. The disappointment he felt was short-lived, however.

“Best 3 out of 5,” comes Kagami’s eager, yet slightly winded, suggestion. Aomine looks over and sees Kagami looking at him in excitement, eyes begging him to agree. Wordlessly, he does and they both quickly stand up and make their way back to the court.

Aomine was surprised that Kagami had actually won the next two games, yet oddly pleased. They were taking another break, both wanting to be rested for the determining final game. He looks over and sees Kagami rubbing his left knee with his brows furrowed.

“You alright,” he asks worriedly, feeling like an idiot. _He said he wanted to take it easy and here I am, going all out, and agreeing to play more than he originally wanted! Good going, asshole._

“It’s nothing,” Kagami says, stopping his mental lecture to himself. “It’s just an old injury that acts up sometimes.” Aomine notices his smile seems a little dimmer than it did earlier and is about to ask if he’s sure he’s okay, but once again, Kagami stops him. “It’s actually why I had to quit competitive ball. I wanted to go pro, but I threw out my knee in universtiy”

“Shit, man. Sorry to hear that.” Aomine knew all too well the pains of not being able to go pro, though his reason seems stupid compared to Kagami’s. “I wanted to go pro, too,” he says quietly. At Kagami’s look of surprise, he continues, “I could have, I didn’t have an injury or anything, at least not a physical one. It’s just.. I’ve always been good at basketball.” Kagami snorts at the understatement and Aomine smiles a bit in response. “Ha, yeah alright. I’ve always been really good at basketball, but not everyone is like you. Most people can’t keep up with me, I can’t go all out with them, not like I can with you. Winning usually came easy to me and people didn’t like that. The harder I tried, the less fun I had and the more people came to resent me. I didn’t have a coach that knew how to encourage me the way I needed and I couldn’t do it myself, so I eventually fell out of love with the sport.” He breathes heavily, glad to have the more painful part of the story over. “But then, during my first year of university, Satsuki made me go to one of the school’s basketball practices. I somehow ended up giving pointers to some of the players and the next thing I know, I’m going to every practice, watching the team play together and have fun. It’s what I imagined the game to be like, but didn’t get to have. I was blown away by how amazing the coach was at dealing with the players, encouraging them. It wasn’t too long before I started volunteering to help during practices. It was hard at first, I found myself acting like the kind of coach I had. Luckily, I got my act together soon and it went smoothly from there. At the end of the year, a lot of guys from the team thanked me for all the help I gave them, told me that I made basketball even more fun. It was at that moment that I decided I wanted to coach, I wanted to be the type of person that I needed.”

He feels lighter, somehow, after telling Kagami his story. At least, until he realizes how quiet the other is being. Immediately, he regrets saying so much. _You dumbass! He didn’t want to hear all that. The hell is wrong with you._ After he’s done yelling at himself, he turns his head towards Kagami and prepares to apologize, but is stopped as he gets a look at Kagami’s face.

Kagami’s looking at him with affection in his eyes and a soft smile.

“I respected you for coaching before, but my respect for you is on a whole new level now. I think it’s great, that you’ve found something that you’re so passionate about, that you care so much for,” the red-head tells him softly, still looking at him like he’s something amazing.

Embarrassed, Aomine turns away, not wanting the other to see his blush. Kagami just laughs and jumps to his feet.

Holding out a hand for Aomine, he playfully says, “Come on, we have one more game to play and I’m totally going to kick your ass.”

Aomine laughs, glad for the change in subject, and takes his hand and lets himself be pulled up. He’s about to follow the other to the court when he remembers that the other had been rubbing his knee.

“You gonna be alright to play,” he asks.

“Huh? Oh! Yeah, no, I’ll be fine! Probably really sore tomorrow, but that’s fine. Just means I played well today,” Kagami responds cheerfully. Aomine just nods, not wanting to question the other. He figures Kagami knows his limits and is smart enough not to push them.

So, they play their last game of the night. It ends in a tie. Neither were really pleased with the ending, but the game was dragging on, both unable to get one up on the other. Exhausted, and realizing that they’ve played for way longer than originally intended, the decide to call it a day. They split not long after, both agreeing that they have to play again soon. Aomine smiles the entire way back home.

 

******

When he manages to get home, he’s met with the same blonde he saw just earlier that day sitting on his couch with takeout containers spread out around him.

“Aominechii,” the blonde yells, jumping up from his seat. “You’ve been gone for ages!”

“I had plans,” he says simply. “You knew this.” Toeing off his shoes he looks up at the blonde, “The hell are you doing here, anyways?”

“Ah, Momoichii said omething about how you would be dying to tell someone about how your date with Kagamichii went! When she said she had a date, I thought maybe you’d want to tell me!” Aomine gets that feeling again, the same feeling he got texting Kise this morning, but he still can’t figure out what’s bothering him.

Ignoring for the time being, he asks Kise, “And what makes you think I would want you here? I got enough of you earlier.”

“Rude, Aominechii, just rude,” the blonde pouts. “Even after I bought you your favorite foods for dinner,” he says, gesturing to the take-out containers. Aomine just grunts, hastily making his way to the promised food. “Besides,” Kise begins at Aomine’s lack of response, “I know that you want to see me. You miss me when I’m not around. Or so I’m told.” His voice takes on a teasing note and Aomine stiffens briefly, before whipping around and glaring at the smirking blonde.

“You’ve been talking to Satsuki,” he accuses.

“Now what makes you think that, Aominechii?”

The blonde is clearly having fun teasing him and Aomine’s about to snap at him, but stops when a thought hits him. Kise’s been talking to Satsuki. That weird feeling comes back and settles into his stomach and he can finally identify it. Dread. Just a minute ago, and earlier while texting, Kise had referred to Kagami as ‘Kagamichii’. And Kise shouldn’t know about Kagami, Aomine’s positive he never gave Kise a name, he knows better. _Satsuki,_ he growls in his head.

“How much,” he asks roughly.

“Uh, what?”

“How much did Satsuki tell you?” He doesn’t elaborate, the blonde knows what he’s talking about. He can see Kise trying to decide whether or not he should play dumb, but the glare Aomine throws his way has him sighing in defeat.

“Everything,” he says sheepishly.

“Everything,” Aomine asks, doubtful.

“Everything,” the blonde confirms, the smirk forming on his face telling Aomine that he isn’t lying.

Throwing himself on the sofa, Aomine groans, long and hard, while Kise breaks out into laughter.

“It’s not all that bad, Aominechii! Cheer up.” After another glare is thrown is way, Kise rushes to reassure his moody friend. “I want even bring it up! Promise!” He quiet for a moment before saying, “But seriously, Aominechii, trying to start a make-out session in a hotel lobby? Not at all classy.” He burst into laughter and throws his hands up in surrender when Aomine picks up a pillow cushion, looking like he wants to suffocate his house guest with it. “I’m done, I’m done!” Kise calls, amusement still present in his voice.

They both finally settle down and start eating, Aomine telling Kise about Kagami and how great at basketball he is. He’s just about to tell Kise what Kagami said about his coaching when his phone dings. It’s a message from Kagami.

_Hey, I’m off this coming Thursday, want to grab dinner with me?_

He doesn’t even have to think about it.

**Definitely.**

He waits until after he gets the details from Kagami before telling Kise, who predictably, squeals at the new information. Before he can say anything though, Aomine asks,

“So, is **this** considered a date?”

“Yes!” the blonde answers enthusiastically. “Also, while we’re on the topic of dates,” Aomine doesn’t like the teasing tone in the blondes’ voice. “Yukiochii said he’s not sure if he wants me playing one-on-ones with you anymore, Aominechii. Since, you know, you consider those dates and all.” Aomine doesn’t hesitate to throw the pillow this time, hitting the model right in the face, knocking him to the floor. Even from the floor, Kise’s laughing and Aomine, feeling lighter than he has in a long time, can’t help but join him.


	4. Chapter 4

Their dinner ended up going well, something Kise still tries to take credit for. Aomine scoffs every time the blonde tries to say it was because of his coaching and outfit choice that Aomine was able to win over ‘Kagamichii’. Sure, Kise picked out a killer outfit, but Aomine’s the one that wore it, so he gets the credit. Truthfully though, Aomine doesn’t care who gets the credit, he’s just glad that the date went well. So well, in fact, that they’ve been officially dating ever since.

 

******

 

Aomine, having offered to drive for the night, drove Kagami back to his place and insisted on walking the red-head to his door. It’s awkward when they first arrive at the door, neither knowing the best way to say goodbye. It was while Aomine was mentally cursing himself for not planning for this that Kagami spoke up.

“So,” he starts off, “Can I consider this a date?” He’s blushing and he won’t meet Aomine’s eyes, and Aomine is reminded of how they met. The more time that passes without an answer from Aomine, he’s too busy staring at the attractive, blushing face to even try forming an answer, the more Kagami starts to fidget. However, when his fidgeting stops and begins tensing up, Aomine is finally able to make his mouth from words.

“Yes,” he blurts out quickly, hoping to reassure the other. When he sees the red-heads shoulders slump in relief, he smiles sheepishly and lifts one hand to rub at the back of neck. “I um, I kind of wanted our one-on-one to be a date, but my friend said basketball wasn’t really ‘date material’. Whatever that means.” He blushes then, too, and tries not to think about what the two of them must look like, standing close together and blushing outside of Kagami’s front door. A chuckle from Kagami and he decides he really doesn’t care what they look like. In fact, he’s thinking of things he could do that would really get the neighbors talking when Kagami suddenly grabs him by the shoulders and turns him so that his back is now towards Kagami’s door, effectively reversing their previous position.

“I think basketball is a perfect date,” Kagami whispers against Aomine’s lips and nudging him until his back connects with the door. “From now on, all our basketball matches can be dates,” he promises. Before Aomine can celebrate the fact that Kagami wants to play him more, and that he wants the games to be _dates,_ Kagami is claiming his lips with his own.

 Aomine, though surprised, is certainly not going to waste such a great opportunity. He’s been wanting this since Kyoto, when Momoi had interrupted them. He kisses back eagerly, tangling one hand in Kagami’s hair and using the other to grab Kagami by the hip and pull him closer. He pushes a knee between Kagami’s legs and presses up ever so slightly, causing Kagami to break their kiss and let out a soft moan. He doesn’t pull away completely, but he also doesn’t reconnect their lips, he just rests his head against Aomine’s. They stay like that for a few moments, catching their breath. Eventually, Kagami pulls back, but not before leaving a quick peck on Aomine’s lips.

“When are you free next,” Kagami asks after puling away.

Aomine has to think about it for a moment, his schedule is about to get real bust with the playoff tournament coming up soon. However, he knows he’s willing to lose a little sleep if it means he gets to spend time with the attractive red-head, so he says, “I’m free most days after 8, and I’m free all of next Saturday.”

Kagami grins widely and says, “Perfect. I have next Saturday off, too.” His takes on a more seductive edge as he continues, “You could come over Friday night, sometime after 8 and stay the night. Then we can spend the day together on Saturday.”

Aomine looks from the red-heads suggestive grin to his eyes that hold a suggestive look. He swallows and thinks over the implications of what Kagami is suggesting. He quickly nods his head in approval, at the idea and the images running through his head. He’s wanted Kagami since they met in Kyoto, he’s had plenty of time to let his imagination run wild, coming up with a bunch of scenarios involving Kagami in all different states of undressed. “That sounds like a great idea,” he says, wanting to give Kagami verbal confirmation as well.

Kagami responds by initiating a deep kiss, effectively taking away Aomine’s breath once more. When he breaks the kiss, he takes a few steps back and begins searching his pockets for his keys. Once he’s found them he looks at Aomine and smiles. “So, next Friday?”

“Next Friday,” Aomine confirms with a smile of his own. He moves aside and lets Kagami unlock his door. After sharing a quick goodbye, Aomine slowly makes his way back to his car, wishing it were next Friday already.

 

******

Two months have passed since the dinner, their first official date, and between both their busy schedules, they’ve manage to make time for a few more as well as a couple one-on-ones. Things having been great, so well that Aomine’s hardly seen without a smile on his face, much to the amusement of Momoi and Kise. For the most part, Aomine puts up with their constant teasing. That was the deal he made with the two of them, they could tease him all they wanted, but they had to keep Kagami a secret from the rest of their old middle school teammates. Aomine’s not quite ready to introduce Kagami to the craziness that is his friends.

Even his team had noticed his constant good mood, but they didn’t tease him much, they had been too busy practicing and advancing in the playoff tournament. Their hard work had paid off and they had advanced to the championship game, which was going to start within the hour. Aomine had no doubts that they would start teasing him once the season was over, he was already mentally preparing himself for it. However, he pushed the thought out of his mind for now, they had a game to win. With that thought, he made his way to the locker room to give the team a motivational speech before it was time to warm-up.

**Kagami P.O.V**

Kagami cursed under his breath as he pushed his way through the crowd. He knew he should have arrived earlier, but getting away from Kuroko without telling his friend where he was going proved to be quite the challenge. He wasn’t ready for to introduce Kuroko to Aomine just yet, he liked having Aomine all to himself. Finally, he made it out of the sea of people and was pleased to see that the game had yet to start.

A few days ago, he had received a call from an unknown number and had considered ignoring it, but now he’s glad he hadn’t. It had turned out to be Momoi, who had taken Aomine’s phone while the man was in the other room and retrieved Kagami’s number. The pinkette told Kagami that Aomine’s team had made the championship and that if he was free, he was more than welcome to watch the game with him. Apparently, Aomine had mentioned really wanting Kagami there, but didn’t want to ask him to come. So naturally, Momoi took thing into her own hands. Kagami enthusiastically told her that he would love to watch the game with her.

So, here he is, looking for the pinkette in the massive crowd. Thankfully, Momoi’s pink hair makes it pretty easy to spot her and he quickly makes his way towards her.

Momoi looks up at his arrival and smiles widely. “Kagachin! I’m so glad that you made it! I know Dai-chan will be happy when he finds out,” she says, jumping up and throwing her arms around him in a hug.

He stumbles a bit, caught off guard, but quickly recovers and returns the embrace. “I wouldn’t miss it,” he tells her, letting her go and taking the empty seat next to her. “I’m actually really excited to see the team. With Daiki as the coach, they have to be good.” Momoi smiles at that.

“We should hang out more, Kagachin! It’s no fair that Dai-chan gets you all to himself!”

“Well, he is my boyfriend,” he teases, causing Momoi to pout. “But I guess I can make an exception. For you.” Momoi smiles again and is about to say something, but it interrupted by the buzzer, indicating that warm-up is over and that it’s time for the game to start. Instead, the two of them share excited smiles and turn towards the court.

They don’t talk much the first half. Kagami’s too caught up in the game, his love of basketball fueling the excitement he felt about watching Aomine coach and Momoi’s too busy snapping secret pictures of Kagami, planning on using them to bribe Aomine in the future. When half-time comes around, Kagami takes the moment to ask Momoi how her classes were going. She responds by enthusiastically talking about some of the interesting things she’s learned the past few weeks. Kagami listens, equally fascinated. If he didn’t love being a chef so much, he thinks he could have studied sports medicine.

They talk about her classes until half-time and the players start coming out of the locker rooms. Aomine looks up to where they’re sitting, knowing that’s where Momoi prefers to sit, and stumbles a bit when his eyes land on Kagami. His team hears his sneakers skid across the court and turn around to see what the deal is. They see his pink cheeks and wide eyes and quickly follow his line of sight. It’s not hard to figure out that the handsome red-head next to Momoi must be the famous ‘Kagachin’.

Chuuya chuckles a bit before whistling. “Hey. Coach, you can stare at your boy later, we’ve got a game to win now.”

The rest of the team laughs and Aomine glares, quickly regaining his composure and catching up with the team. He slaps Chuuya on the back of the head and hopes that Kagami didn’t hear his idiot player. “Focus on the game, Chuuya,” he growls.

Chuuya laughs and rubs the back of his head. “I am focused, Coach. And don’t worry, we’ll make sure we win so you can impress Kagachin!” Aomine is about to snap at him again, but the buzzer goes off and Chuuya quickly runs to the center of the court.

Luckily, Kagami didn’t hear anything that was said, but by Aomine’s reactions, he and Momoi guess that it had something to do with Kagami himself.  Aomine didn’t look back throughout the rest of the game, but Kagami didn’t blame him. The opposing team was good and was giving Aomine’s team a good deal of trouble. Eventually, however, Aomine’s players were able to break out and score multiple baskets in a row and succeeded in keeping the other team from scoring; Succeeding in winning the game.

After the ceremony was over and everyone was given a medal, Kagami and Momoi made their way to the court to congratulate the team. Aomine was facing away from them when they approached and was only made aware of their presence by his players wolf whistling. He spun around and Kagami gave him a big smile.

“Congratulations, Daiki,” he says warmly, before turning to the rest of the team. “Congrats to you guys, too, of course. You guys did all the hard work, I was really impressed by all of your skills.”

“Thanks man,” Chuuya starts, causing Aomine to groan. “But trust me, we couldn’t have done it without the Coach!” He slings an arm over Aomine’s shoulder. “He’s an actual basketball God, you should see him on the court.”

“Oh, I have. I’m _very_ aware of his skills,” Kagami responds, smiling at Aomine’s obvious discomfort.

“Well, then you should see his skills in the sheets. I don’t have any personal experience there, but if moves in bed like he does on the court, I bet you’re in for a wild ride.”

“Chuuya!” Aomine shout, shocked at his audacity. “Are you hitting on him for me? He’s already my boyfriend, you don’t have to do that! Please, don’t do that!” Everyone except Aomine bursts out laughing, making Aomine sulk.

“Again, I’m _very_ aware of his skills,” Kagami cheekily tells Chuuya.

“Taiga! Not you, too!”

“Sorry, sorry,” he responds, not at all sorry.

Everyone laughs again, Aomine included. The team then proceeds to ask Kagami all about his life, what he does for a living, does he play basketball, if so he should come play at one of their practices. Kagami humors them, answering all their questions with a smile on his face.

Finally, everyone leaves, so it’s just Aomine and Kagami left. They’re standing outside the building, trying to decide if they should go out to eat or not.

“How about this,” Kagami starts, “For winning, I’ll make you your favorite meal tonight. How does that sound?’

“Perfect,” Aomine responds immediately. He’s had Kagami’s cooking once before and there’s no way he would ever pass up the chance to have it again.

“Great! My place it is then.” Kagami takes Aomine’s hand and starts walking, his apartment only being a few blocks away. They walk in silence, enjoying each other’s company. Aomine looks over at Kagami and thinks about how lucky he is to have met this man. Kagami makes him happy, just as happy as playing basketball makes him.

“So,” Kagami starts off casually, “Did you want to eat first, or _celebrate_ first?”

Confused, Aomine asks, “Celebrate?”

“Yeah,” Kagami responds, looking over grinning wolfishly at him.

Realization dawns on him and he manages to choke out a hasty, “Celebrate.” Kagami immediately picks up his pace, almost jogging now.

“Good, that’s what I was hoping you would say.”

Aomine lets out a breathless laugh and easily keeps up with Kagami’s fast pace, even increasing it, motivated to get to Kagami’s home faster. He knew, from the moment he first saw Kagami singing in the hotel gym, that he was a keeper. And Aomine has every intention of keeping him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it! That's the end of the main story! I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks again for reading!


End file.
